Under Water
by fanficwriter24601
Summary: Sam and Dean are on a case, chasing down an elusive demon. But something happened to Dean along the way. And surprise, surprise, he doesn't want to talk about it. Not that he remembers much of it anyway... What has happened to Dean and how has it affected him?
1. Nightmare

Air, he needed air. The water surrounding him was dragging him down as Dean attempted to claw his way back to the surface. Not knowing how much more his lungs could take, he fought the urge to breathe when suddenly water came rushing up his nose and into his mouth.

Gasping in gulps of air, Dean sat straight up in bed, the sheets twisted around him. His t-shirt was plastered against his skin, damp with perspiration.

"Dean?" Sam asked groggily from the other bed. "You okay?"

"Yeah," replied Dean in a hushed tone. "I'm good. Just go back to sleep Sammy."

Untangling his legs from the bedclothes, the older Winchester brother got up and headed to the bathroom. Flipping the switch and squinting at the sudden brightness, Dean stood and relieved himself before flushing the toilet and stepping over to the sink. He rinsed off his hands before cupping them and splashing his face with water a few times.

As he cupped his hands under the flowing water, Dean realized that he was incredibly thirsty, parched even. Bending down at the waist, he lowered his lips to the surface of the water in his hands and began to greedily gulp it down.

"You keep drinking like that and you'll make yourself sick."

"Jeez, Sam" exclaimed Dean, startled by his brother's sudden appearance in the doorway. "Don't sneak up on a guy like that."

"Don't pee with the door open," Sam retorted.

"I'm a grown man, if I wanted to shut the door, I would've shut the door. Besides, you're supposed to be asleep."

"So are you," the younger brother replied. "But this is the second night this week that you've woken up with nightmares."

Dismissively Dean said, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I've been through worse. We both have."

"Dean," implored Sam, "something isn't right and you know it as well as I do."

"I said," Dean said menacingly, "don't worry about it. Now get back to bed."

Grabbing a few more gulps of water, Dean wiped his face on his sleeve before shutting the facet. Forcefully brushing past his younger brother, he stalked over to his bed.


	2. Breakfast

"What will it be, sweetie?" the bland looking waitress asked Sam the next morning.

He and Dean had stopped by at the local diner on their way out of town. They had been on the trail of a demon for the last month and they couldn't manage to catch up with the bastard. Always a step behind, Sam had argued that they might as well stop and get a bite to eat. No sense hunting on an empty stomach.

"I'll have the egg-white omelet please, extra spinach," replied Sam.

"And for you?" inquired the woman.

Glancing up from the menu, Dean seemed totally distracted at not at all prepared to answer.

"Uh… I'll just have water."

"Just water? No food?" asked the perplexed waitress.

"Yes," replied Dean. "But like a whole pitcher."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Alright. I'll be right back with that." And she walked away.

"Dean," Sam said incredulously, "you need to eat. Ever since we left Illinois, you've had barely anything to eat and you've been drinking water like a fish."

"I'm just thirsty," replied Dean with a shrug. "Besides, you're always after me to cut back on the junk."

"You're going to get water poisoning."

"That's not a thing."

"Sure it is. The chemistry of your brain can be affected when overhydration causes an electrolytes imbalance."

"What did you do," scoffed Dean, "memorize the dictionary?"

"Dean," replied Sam, "I'm getting concerned."

"Don't be. I'm fine."

"You weren't fine when I found you —"

"Here you are dears," interrupted the waitress and she set an omelet down in front of Sam and a jug of water in front of Dean. "Need anything else, just holler."

Looking up at the woman with a grin, Dean replied, "Thank you very much," then bending his head down so he could read her name tag, "Arleen."

"Don't mention it," replied Arleen as she sauntered away.

"Dean," said Sam.

"Eat your food," Dean replied as he placed a straw in the pitcher and began to drink.

"We need to talk about this," Sam hissed quietly.

Shaking his head 'no', Dean continued drinking his pitcher full of water.


	3. Hungry

Driving through Robert Singer's old stomping grounds, Sam and Dean decided to pull off of I-29 into Sioux Falls to grab a bite to eat. Well, a bite to eat for Sam that is.

"Why is it," asked Sam, "whenever we came through here to visit Bobby, that we never actually drove into Sioux Falls proper?"

"I dunno," replied Dean. "Bobby's place was way out in the middle of nowhere. I don't think it was actually within city limits."

"Yeah," said Sam. "If I didn't know better, I would've thought it was some podunk town instead of a bustling city with the population of 178,500 people."

"Where _did_ you get that number?" Dean asked skeptically.

"There was a sign as we drove in," replied Sam self-righteously.

"Idjit," muttered Dean as he pulled into a parking lot.

"What did you say?" Sam responded hotly.

"Nothing," replied Dean. "Get out. Let's get some food."

"Dean," remarked Sam as he climbed out of the car, "this is a grocery store, not a restaurant."

"You wanted food. I brought you to a place with food. Besides, I'm sure they've got ready-to-eat food and maybe even a dining area. Come on, let's go. I'm thirsty."

Now it was Sam's turn to mutter under his breath, "You're always thirsty."

Stepping into the entryway of the building, a full blast of air hit them in the face and Sam went to grab a flyer from the magazine rack.

"Dean," remarked Sam as they walked through the second set of automated doors, "they've got a two-for-one special on what they call Hy-Chi. What do you suppose that is? Dean? Dean!"

The older Winchester brother wasn't listening as he walked over to the Italian department, too distracted by the pretty young woman, with a pair of long brown braids framing her slender face, making pizzas behind the counter to answer his younger brother.

"Dean," Sam griped.

"Hello," said the young woman brightly. "Can I get you boys something?"

"Um…," stuttered Sam looking up at the menu board.

"What do you recommend?" asked Dean as he leaned in with a smile.

"Well," said the clerk, "depends on what you're looking for. I've got hot cheese or pepperoni pizza ready. Or I can make you something up special."

"We'll just have a couple of slices of cheese please," Sam said as he elbowed his brother.

"Alrighty then. Will that be for here or to go?"

"For here," replied Dean before Sam could respond.

Grabbing a couple of plates and laying them on the tray, the young woman served up the slices of pizza and handed the tray to the brothers over the counter.

"You can pay at the register around the corner by the casual dining area. Anything else I can do for you?"

"No," remarked Sam, beating Dean to the punch this time. "Thank you."

"Thank you. And have a wonderful rest of your day," the woman responded cheerily.

After paying, Sam sat down and began eating while Dean filled up their cups with water at the soda fountain.

Dean joined his brother at the table and said, "You don't have to be such a cock block, you know."

"I'm not…" responded Sam. "You know what. Go ahead. Ask her for her number. I'm sure that big ol' rock on her left hand means she's just dying to get laid."

"You're just jealous."

"Jealous?! Dean, we're just passing through. We don't have time to stop so you can get your dick wet."

"_Sheesssh_," replied Dean. "You don't have to be such a bitch about it."

"Jerk."

Once they were done, Sam having eaten his slice and the slice Dean had only taken a bite or two of while he drained cup after cup of water, the two of them walked the aisles for a bit. Dean grabbed an empty cart.

"What do we need a cart for?" asked Sam.

"I just wanted to pick up a few bottles of water for the road," remarked Dean. "The mountain spring brand if they have it. None of that purified crap."

Sam watched as Dean piled six cases of bottled water into the cart.

"You know," the younger Winchester remarked. "All those plastic bottles are going to wind up in a landfill or the ocean. It's really not good for the environment."

Shaking his head in dismay, Dean just kept pushing the cart along, "Come on Sammy. Pick up some grub for the road, unless you want to waste more time by stopping again."

"Want to go over to the bakery and look at what type of pies they have?"

"Not really feeling like pie right now. I just ate."

"Fine. Hey, look. They have a health market section. Let's go check it out."

Rolling his eyes, Dean followed his brother.

"Organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, sugar-free, nut-free, cookies?" Dean questioned holding up a bag for Sam's benefit. "Looks tasty."

"Would you stop it?" Sam replied knocking the bag out of Dean's hand and onto the floor.

Walking over and reaching down to pick up the cookies, a product on the bottom shelf caught Dean's eye. The thin but wide green package was in his hands within a second. Another second later, the entire stock of the item was in Dean's hands being dumped into the cart.

"What?!" Sam asked slightly alarmed picking up a package and looking at it. "Seaweed Nori? Dean, this is for making sushi."

"It sounds good," Dean shrugged.

"Dean," Sam remarked, "I am honestly worried you are turning into a fish."

"Shut up and pick something out already," Dean said dismissively. "We need to get on the road."


	4. Elders

The rumble of the Impala died, as Dean removed the key from the ignition. Peering over at the two-story white paneled house to the left, the older Winchester brother reached to grab the fake ID from Sam.

"Agent Plant?" Dean said, examining the small card. "I guess that makes you Agent Page?"

"Yep," remarked Sam, straightening his tie in the rearview mirror.

"Why do you always get to be Page?"

Sam, however, didn't answer because he was already stepping out of the car and onto the walkway leading up to the house.

Quick to join his younger brother, Dean exited the vehicle and took a few quick strides before falling into step with Sam. The two of them mounted the steps and 'Agent Page' rung the doorbell.

Giving his brother a quick glance, Sam said quietly, "Button your jacket."

"I can't," replied Dean as he pulled the edges of the suit coat together. "Must've shrunk at the dry—"

"Hello?" a weary-looking woman interrupted as she opened the door.

"Yes," Sam rebounded, "hello. I'm federal Agent Page and this is my associate, Agent Plant. We were wondering if we could come in and speak with you."

"Um…," the woman said warily as she took a few steps back, allowing the brothers to enter, "sure. Come in."

"Thank you," remarked Sam.

Once they had made their way into the living room, Dean turned to the woman and said, "We really appreciate you allowing us into your home Mrs. Johnston. Now if you don't mind, we have a few questions about what happened to your husband."

"It's Dr. Johnston, actually," the woman said, "I'm a physician. And my husband Richard runs… I mean… ran a used bookstore downtown. But I don't know what I could possibly tell you, I already spoke with the local police."

"We are very sorry for your loss, Dr. Johnston," Sam empathized, "but we are following up on similar deaths that have been happening around the country. And we need to be thorough, so if there is anything you can tell us about Richard's death, or the events leading up to his death, we'd greatly appreciate it."

"What do you mean similar deaths?" Dr. Johnston questioned. "The police said it was some sort of gas leak."

"And we aren't saying it wasn't," remarked Dean. "But the report mentioned you smelled sulfur when you found your husband. Was there anything else weird or unusual that happened before or after the incident?"

"Nothing out of the usual," remarked the woman. "Everything was normal. I was off that day but Richard had to open the shop so he left after breakfast. I got the kids ready and off to school. After that, I went downtown to meet him for lunch. And that's… that's when I found him?"

"And was anything missing? You mentioned the shop was a used bookstore. Did your husband mention recently coming in possession of a rare or interesting book?" Sam inquired.

"Now that you mention it," she noted, "there was a religious text he had been quite excited about. He had gotten it from an estate sale. It was an old manuscript of some sort. That was what he was currently working on, verifying its authenticity. Richard even had a few Jesus boys stop by to take a look at it the day before he died."

"Jesus boys?" Dean inquired. "What do you mean 'Jesus boys'?"

"Oh, you know," Johnston remarked, "they come in pairs, dark suits and ties, black name badges on their lapels…"

"Missionaries?" prodded Sam.

"Yes," she proclaimed. "And they both had the same first name as well. I think it was Elmer."

"And these Elmers," asked Dean, "they came and spoke to your husband about the book?"

"Well, no," the doctor remarked uncertainly. "He wasn't home. I told them to stop by the shop… Agent Plant? Are you feeling okay?"

"What?" Dean faltered. He had lost focus and was beginning to feel nauseous.

"Here," ordered the woman, "sit down. You look as pale as a ghost. Can I get you something?"

"Just a glass of water, if you don't mind," said Dean.

"Of course,' Johnston replied kindly, "I'll be right back."

"Dean," Sam said in a hushed tone, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," remarked Dean. "Just a little light-headed. I'll be fine. Just give me a moment."

"Here we are," Johnston announced, re-entering the room and handing the glass to Dean.

"Thank you," Dean remarked before greedily gulping down the liquid.

Giving Dean a sideways look, Sam inquired, "Do you know if the manuscript still at the bookshop?"

"It has to be," the woman answered. "Where else would it be?"

"We'll look into it ma'am," said Dean as he rose to his feet. "But right now, I could really use a bathroom. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Down the hall and to the left."

Not even stopping to say 'thank you,' Dean hurried down the hallway before darting into the bathroom.

"Your partner," the doctor inquired, "has he been gulping down a lot of water lately and urinating frequently?"

"Yes," replied Sam. "Should I be concerned?"

"Not necessarily. How is his appetite?"

"He hasn't had much of one of late. Which is weird considering he usually wolfs down his food like it's going to disappear."

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that bad?"

"I wouldn't know for sure unless I were to take him into the office and do blood work but given his symptoms, it's very possible that your partner is diabetic."

"Could it be something else? A stomach bug or parasite of some sort?"

"Perhaps. But according to Occam's Razor, the most likely scenario is the simplest and most apparent. And since he's male, the symptoms point towards diabetes."

"Does the diagnosis vary between genders?" Sam asked.

"No. But if he were a woman exhibiting those symptoms, my first action would be to do a pregnancy test. Obviously, not a likely diagnosis for your co-worker."

* * *

Lifting up the yellow tape the cordoned off the small storefront, Dean motioned to his younger brother and said snarkily, "After you, princess."

Sighing, Sam made his way under the tape and through the front door. As soon as he did, the powerful smell of sulfur hit him full in the face.

"_Blaagghh_," Dean spat as he too entered the building.

"Well one powerful demon was here alright," Sam remarked.

"Or two," said Dean.

"Two? What makes you say that?" Sam asked as he and Dean began to search the rows of books.

"Well, the doc said a couple of missionaries came to her door. That makes two."

"Oh, right. The two guys named Elmer."

"Not Elmer," Dean said as he wandered over to the counter with the register

"What?" Sam questioned in disbelief. "She clearly said Elmer."

"Oh, I know. But she's wrong. The name of their tags read Elder, not Elmer. And it's a title, not a name."

"Title for what?"

"Mormon missionaries."

"You're kidding. What do you know about Mormons?"

"Not much," Dean replied. "But what I do know is that they are all about spreading messages 'salvation.' They're not exactly the type to go around doing freelance work on ancient manuscripts."

"_Aaaaahhh_," Sam shrieked as something brushed his leg.

"What?!" Dean said protectively as he pulled his gun from his holster stood up from behind the counter. "Sammy?!"

Coming back into view, Sam too had his gun drawn and was cautiously pointing it around.

"Meow," said the three-legged cat as he jumped on the counter.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sam said, "It's just a cat."

"And you're just a pussy."

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed in frustration.

"What," Dean said dismissively, "you're the one that screamed."

"It's not about that, it's about… You know what, never mind. Well, at least now we know it wasn't a gas leak."

"And how's that?"

"If it was a gas leak the cat would be dead."

"And with no sign of the manuscript, that means…"

"It means," Sam stated slowly, "that two demons have gotten their hands on the Eliakim Folio."


	5. Another Nightmare

Tendrils of water crept across his face, ebbing up towards his nose and mouth. Thrashing around as best he could, Dean was unable to free himself from the intertwining streams of water that were snaking up his legs and pulling him down into the depths.

"Dean!" he heard his brother yell in the distance. "Dean!"

Fear enclosed around his heart as he was pulled down below the surface.

"_Please Sammy_," he fervently prayed, "_pull me out! I can't breathe! I'm drowning_!"

"Dean!" the voice called once again as rough hands gripped his shoulders tightly, pulling him to the surface.

Gasping for air, the older Winchester kicked violently at the undertow that was still endeavoring to keep a hold of him.

"Dean," Sam called, "wake up!"

And suddenly he was back on solid ground, a bed beneath him and his brother sitting next to him, holding him up by his shoulders.

"Sammy?" Dean said, his voice halted as he frantically sucked in air. "The water, it was… it was."

"It was what?" the younger Winchester asked, his voice full of concern.

A few more deep breaths were all it took for Dean to calm himself down and assess his situation.

"Never mind," Dean said dismissively, "I'm fine. Just another dream. Go back to bed."

"We need to talk about this," Sam said using his most authoritative tone. "You can't keep having these nightmares. Perhaps we should go back home and figure this out before something bad happens."

"Something bad has already happened," Dean groaned.

"What?" Sam asked. "You're finally going to tell me why I found you passed out on the shore of that lake in Illinois without a stitch of clothing on?"

"Come on, Sam. You know I don't remember any of that. Just get off my bed, will ya. I need to take a shower."

Standing up quickly, Sam looked over his brother in the dim light.

"Dean did you… did you wet the bed?"

"Shut up, Bitch," Dean growled as he untangled himself from the damp bed sheets. Getting up he pushed past his kid brother on his way to the restroom, shutting the door firmly behind him and peeling off his wet boxers.

"This is what you get for drinking like a fish," Sam called through the closed door.

Ignoring the remarks, Dean turned on the shower waiting for the water to warm up before stepping under the cascading rivulets.

"_I have better things to worry about than passing bladder infection_," he thought as he rubbed his slightly aching lower abdomen. "_Just need a round of antibiotics and I'll be fine_. _Then the discomfort and swelling will subside. I'll be fine. Just fine._"

Trying to dismiss the uneasiness he felt, Dean focused on the case at hand: The Eliakim Folio. This antique manuscript was possibly written by one of the Princes of Hell. In it, it held the secrets of how Lucifer had created the first and most powerful demons. Azazel, Lilith, Alastair; Dean shuddered at their names. The last thing they needed was more of their ilk running amok.


	6. A Visit to the Doctor

"Is this really necessary?" Dean queried as he sat on the exam table clothed only in socks, boxers, and a loose-fitting hospital gown.

"Yes," Sam maintained, "your lack of appetite alone should be reason enough. Not to mention you drink water like a fish, are gaining weight, having night-terrors, and last but definitely not least, you've become basically incontinent."

The younger Winchester had been counting the reasons on his fingers and with each digit on his hand extended, he shook it at his brother.

Dean, however, was quick to snap back, listing off reasons on his own hand, "First off, I am eating. That seaweed stuff might look weird but it tastes great and it's high in fiber, potassium, and protein. Second, it's important to stay hydrated. Third, I'm not getting fat, so how dare you. Four, those dreams have nothing to do with this. And fifth, that was one time, okay? I told you, it's probably just a little infection. Some antibiotics will clear it right up."

"Sure, Dean," Sam remarked, "and that's why we're here. So we can get you a prescription."

"Then why did you insist they run tests?"

Exasperated, Sam shook his head and huffed, "I just want to cover our bases."

"How did I let you convince me this was a good idea," the older Winchester said, "I don't know. What I do know is that we have more important things to be doing than sitting around all day waiting for some test results that are just going to come back negative. Sam? You even listening to me?"

Having retrieved his phone from his pocket, Sam had become engrossed with the contents of whatever he was reading because he did not reply.

"Sam?!"

Startled, the younger Winchester looked up, his face now pale. "Dean, we got to go."

Frowning, Dean quickly stripped off the gown and began dressing. "What is it?"

"Um," Sam hesitated, not knowing how to convey the content of the information he had just obtained.

Pulling the phone from his brother's hand, Dean looked at the screen:

POLICE URGENTLY REQUEST PUBLIC ASSISTANCE IN LOCATING SEVEN MISSING NEWBORNS

"Shit," he exclaimed, "those fucking demons."

"Seven seals, seven deadly sins, seven infants. This isn't a coincidence, Dean. Those demons have the folio and are collecting ingredients."

Having pulled on his boots, Dean was out the door, Sam right behind him.

A few moments later they were in the Impala and Dean was peeling out from the parking lot, headed towards the highway.

"Which way we going, Sammy?"

"East," Sam replied.

"How far East?"

"North Carolina, that's where the infants disappeared."

"Where exactly?"

It's not one city but across a couple of counties, Avey and Watauga," Sam stated but then falteringly added. "But there's a small town there that's probably our best bet to find them."

"How do you figure that?" Dean insisted.

"Because," Sam gulped, "the town is called Seven Devils."

"Damn," Dean swore as he pressed on the accelerator and sped down the road.


	7. Road Trip

By the time the Winchester boys hit the half-way mark, it was well past dark. Dean, feeling like he was about nod off, decided to pull over at the next available rest stop.

"You okay?" Sam inquired when he saw Dean switch on his blinker and turn onto the exit ramp.

"Yeah," the older Winchester replied, a near empty water bottle in hand. "I'm fine. Just a little a tired. And I could use a piss. You mind taking a turn at the wheel for a bit?"

"Sure. I can do that."

"Good."

It was the most they had spoken since getting in the car. Both of them too preoccupied with the knowledge of what awaited them in North Carolina.

Once they had gotten to the rest stop and both of them had gotten out and stretched their legs a bit, it was time to hit the road again. Though not before Dean downed another bottle of water.

"You're not going to get tired and fall asleep on me, are you?" Dean asked as he climbed into the passenger seat. "I'd like to get through this state as quickly as possible."

"What do you mean by that?" Sam replied, clearly confused.

With a sigh, Dean shook his head grumbled, "We're in Illinois."

"And…"

"And the last time I was in this state, I didn't exactly wake up in the same place I remember falling asleep."

"Oh," Sam responded, hoping that if he didn't make a big deal of it that Dean would finally give him more details about that night.

"Promise me if you get tired, wake me up," Dean cautioned. "Whatever you do, don't pull over thinking you'll just close your eyes for a few minutes."

"Is that what happened the last time we drove through this way, back in March?"

"Can you just give it a rest, Sam?" the anger in Dean's voice, clear as day.

"Sorry," Sam apologized. "I won't fall asleep. You get some rest. I'll wake you up when we hit Indiana."

With a huff, the elder Winchester slumped in his seat and rested his head against the window. A few minutes later, Sam could hear the soft snores that indicated that his brother was no longer conscious.

* * *

"_Mmmmhhhhm_," Dean groaned, rubbing his eyes and reaching in the back for something to drink, "where are we?"

"Kentucky," the younger Winchester replied with a yawn.

"Kentucky?! Sam, you were supposed to wake me up in Indiana."

"I tried, Dean. But you were out cold."

"Fine. Just pull over. I'm driving."

Sam didn't protest as he followed his brother's directions.

Once Dean was in the driver's seat, Sam wanted nothing more than to catch a few Z's but he didn't want to waste the opportunity to talk.

"You know, I while you were asleep, I got to thinking."

"And?" Dean's reply was curt.

"And I am worried we don't have that much time to stop these demons. We both know that seven is a very biblical number. It is repeated over and over in both the Old and the New Testament, as an indication of perfection. And Lucifer, well it only makes sense that he copy what he had seen his old man do. Trying to make something perfect by utilizing the number seven as well."

"Except Lucy's idea of perfection is the utter destruction of life as we know it, the world in flames."

"Right. Problem is we don't know what's written in the Eliakim Folio. But I'm thinking that it's an incantation that says if you kill seven babies on the seventh day of the seventh month in the town of Seven Devils, it will release enough cosmic juice to super-charge a couple of demons."

"Sam," Dean replied, "we don't have anything to support that theory."

"We don't have time to research or to figure out the details," Sam argued. "The seventh is tomorrow. Those babies will be dead by then if they're not already."

"Jeez, Sammy! Give it a rest, will ya? We will be there in a few hours. All we have to do is run in and save the day. Saving people, hunting things, it's what we do. Don't forget that."

"Sorry," Sam muttered, "I just haven't slept and I'm worried about you and —"

"You don't have to worry about me," Dean said, cutting him off. "I'm fine. You try and sleep until we get there. We both need to be ready to face whatever those two demons have up their sleeve."


	8. Black-Eyed Fiends

Pulling into the town of Seven Devils, the Winchester boys were both now wide awake. The sound of the Impala's engine rumbled to stop as Dean parked the car and switched off the ignition.

Breathing a heavy sigh, Sam fretted, "I sure hope we're in the right place."

"We are," remarked Dean, his tone assured and confident. "This place reeks of sulfur."

"Really?" the younger Winchester inquired, rolling his window down and sniffing the outside air briefly.

"Yes, really."

"Okay, fine then. What's the plan?"

"I'm working on it," Dean replied as he opened his door. "Stay here, Sam."

Sam looked on as his brother entered a nearby hardware store, not at all pleased to be left behind. Nevertheless, it did not take long for the older hunter to return, a large bottle of water in one hand and a bag containing a cylindrical object in the other.

"What did you get?" Sam asked as Dean got back into the car and handed him the bag.

"Well," Dean replied, "I figured since there are infants involved, we don't want to run in guns-a-blazing. We need to trap both of those hell-spawns before we can try killing or exorcising them."

"So that's what this wire is for?" the younger hunter asked, as he pulled the very large spool from the bag.

"I figured we find their hidey-hole and make a quick and dirty Devil's Trap with the iron gauged wire encompassing the area. Once it's complete, they can't use their powers and we can swoop in and gank the douche-bags."

"And how are we supposed to find them, Dean? It's not like they've left a trail or anything."

"Easy," the older Winchester replied as though he had been asked a silly question, "we just follow the smell."

"Since when do you suddenly possess the olfactory abilities of a bloodhound?" Sam asked skeptically.

Shrugging his shoulders, Dean answered, "It's just something that I noticed happening the last couple of months. Don't make a big deal out of it."

"But Dean—"

"Sam! Enough already! Just shut up."

Unnerved by his brother's sudden anger, Sam slumped in his seat. Sure, they had a task to complete: babies to save and demons to kill. However, that didn't change the fact that his brother was experiencing definite and serious physiological changes: the constant thirst, the strange craving for seaweed, the weight gain, and now a heightened sense of smell. Something was very wrong.

* * *

Seeing the dilapidated barn in the distance, Dean maneuvered the vehicle off to the side of the road, not wanting the sounds of the engine to alert the demons to their presence.

"Are you sure they are in there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Getting out of the car, Dean grabbed for his water bottle and downed the remaining contents before wiping his face. Meanwhile, his brother had gotten a few supplies from the trunk, including hex bags that would prevent any supernatural being from sensing their approach.

Sam tossed his brother a flask before instructing, "Don't drink that."

"Why? What is it?" Dean asked as he placed the container in the bag with the wire.

"Holy water."

"Fine," Dean remarked. "But it's not like it would hurt me."

Rolling his eyes, Sam trudged across the nearby field towards the barn. It was getting dark soon and the quicker they set up the Devil's Trap, the sooner they'd be able to put this whole mess behind them. As the two of them approved the structure, they dropped closer to the ground.

"Alright," Dean whispered, "we approach as quietly as possible. We need to verify that both our targets are in the barn before we start laying down the wire."

"So the Devil's Trap is going to around the whole area?" Sam asked in a hushed tone. "And the pentagon in the middle is the center and that has to be big enough the encompass the barn?"

"Yep."

"Did you buy enough wire?"

"I bought the biggest spool they had in the store."

"You know it's going to take like a thousand feet of wire to do that, right?"

"Sammy," Dean warned, "did you forget I was working construction while you were running around soulless for a year? I know how to calculate the amount of wire it takes to wire a whole house. This is child's play."

"Must have slipped my mind," the younger Winchester explained. "My memories of back then are still kind of sketchy at times. Sorry."

The two of them slowly crept up to the side of the barn and peek through a broken sideboard. Peering in, their suspicions were confirmed. Two baby-faced young men, one white and pasty with blonde hair, the other had a darker complexion and short black curls. Both were wearing crisp white short-sleeved shirts and black ties, they were busy making preparations. It looked as if they had drawn a seven-pointed star on the ground and a copper bowl in the middle appeared to be filled with blood.

Glancing over to the right, Dean observed a pastel blue and pink heap of blankets. He stood up and stepped carefully over to another breach in the siding so he could get a better view. Laying on top of the blankets were seven infants, their eyes closed. For a moment, the hunter's heart sank as he thought they might be dead but then he noticed one a few of the babies were moving ever so slightly, their hands grasping at the air.

"_Just sleeping_," he thought to himself as he looked over at Sam and gave him a thumbs up.

"Degon, what time is it?" asked the blonde demon.

"8:46," replied the other who was paging through what had to be the Eliakim Folio.

"We have a little less than two hours until the moon is in position. And then…"

"And then," the dark demon finished, "hello ultimate demonic power! No more bowing down before uppity usurpers like Crowley."

"I can hardly wait. Now, you get the knives and I'll get the bab—-"

Whatever the demon had said was cut off by the combined electronic cords of _Smoke On The Water_ and _Rock You Like A Hurricane._

"Shitshitshitshit," hissed Dean as he grappled to silence the phone in his pocket.

Sam giving Dean "the look," his eyes wide and nostrils flaring, was bad enough but it was followed by Degon saying, "What was that?"

"I dunno. Give me a second."

Pulling the rune engraved hunting knife from its sheath in his waistband, Sam lunged at the demon as soon as he came around the corner.

"_Ahhhhhhhhhh,_" screamed the demon as a reddish aura flashed within his meatsuit, illuminating the bones within the slender frame.

One demon down, Dean steady himself, pulled out his handgun, made sure the chamber was full of Devil's Trap engraved bullets, and waited for the second demon to show his ugly mug. Instead, he found himself flung back into the air and landing hard enough on the ground to knock the wind out of him.

"Winchesters!" the demon spat. "I should've known."

Raising himself up on his elbows, Dean reached for his gun that had landed a few feet away. However, Degon flicked his wrist sending the gun spinning away.

"SAM!" Dean called as the black-eyed malevolent being approached him. But the younger Winchester was lying motionless next to the barn where he must've landed when thrown by the demon's telekinesis.

"Your little brother can't help you now, Dean," the dark demon seethed. "Pity, I would've loved for him to watch me rip you limb from limb."

"That hardly seems fair," Dean muttered struggling to his feet, "aren't you at least going to buy me dinner first."

A dry cackle filled the air as Degon laughed, "For all the rumors I have heard about you, Dean Winchester, no one mentioned you were funny. I'm going to enjoy killing you all the more."

"Laugh it up, douchebag," the hunter replied. "You must've not paid close enough attention to those stories about my brother and I. You see, we always come out on top. Your partner in crime is already dead, why not smoke out of that meat suit while you still can?"

Grinning ear to ear, the demon countered, "I really should thank you for that. Saved me the hassle of doing it myself. Sven might've been responsible for devising this whole plan but he was really narrow-minded when it came to the scope of power this ritual endows. He was so naïve, he really thought I would share it with a lesser demon like him."

Degon was only a foot or two away from him now and Dean pretended to glance down at his feet when really he was tending his muscles to vault into that smug looking piece of shit.

Springing forward, Dean ran into the demon with all his might. It was like hitting a brick wall and the hunter landed on his ass with a thump.

"_Tsk, tsk_," the possessed young man chided as he reached down and wrapped his hand around Dean's throat and pulling him up to eye level.

Try as he might, he couldn't free himself. And every blow Dean landed seem to bounce right off leaving the demon unaffected.

"Oh, Dean," the demon muttered, a hint of surprise in his voice, "what do we have here?"

Lowering his free hand to Dean abdomen he brushed his fingers along the hunter's belly.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" Dean gasped.

"It seems," the demon said with a laugh, "that you have been blessed!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dean growled as he pulled back from the demon's touch while trying to pry the fingers off of his throat. But as soon as he had said it, the hunter knew it was a lie. There was something wrong with him and the black-eyed fiend could sense it. Calling it a blessing was just a cruel joke. But what _it_ was, he did not know.

"I'm talking about that nymph you must've run into. Though it beats me how you got one of them to touch you let alone bless you considering how much they despise humans."

Feeling the fingers around his throat grip him even tighter, Dean's snarky comeback was inhibited by his depleted air supply.

"_Nymph? I don't remember any nymph_," the hunter thought wildly.

"After you're dead," Degon pronounced, "I'm going to cut you open and see it for myself. I'm curious what it will—"

His last words were cut off as Sam stabbed the demon in the back. The reddish flicker of light was gone before the demon had even hit the ground.

"Jeez Sam," Dean lamented, rubbing his neck. "What took you so long?"

"He knocked me out. And by the time I regained consciousness, he already had his hand around your throat. You okay, by the way?"

"Yeah, Sammy. I'm good."

"What was he talking about? Something about a nymph?"

"No idea," the older Winchester replied as he slowly sauntered over to the side of the barn where they had dropped their supplies.

Dean did not want to discuss what the demon had been saying. He could only stretch his powers of denial so far and he didn't want to face the fact that something might be growing inside of him. _A tumor, maybe? Or worse, some sort of parasite?_

"Well, I guess we didn't need that wire after all," Sam stated, as he watched Dean rummage through the bag.

"Guess not," Dean replied as he pulled out the flask of holy water.

"What are you doing with that? The demons are dead."

"I know."

Unscrewing the top, Dean took a swig.

"Dean!"

"What?!" The older hunter defended himself, saying, "I'm really thirsty. Besides, don't you have better things to do?"

"Like what?"

"Like checking on those babies."

"Oh."

Shaking his head, Dean made his way into the barn where he found the infants all snuggled together. Still asleep, by some miracle, but safe and unharmed.

Picking up a baby, Dean nestled the little girl to his chest and leaned his cheek against her soft bald head and breathing deeply.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked as he too gently handled the babies to make sure they were alright.

"Something about babies, man. They just smell so good."

"Until they start peeing and vomiting everywhere."

With a sideways grin, Dean replied, "Sounds like me on a Friday night."


	9. Blessing

Weary from the difficult past few days, Dean wanted nothing more than to go lie down in the privacy of his own room. Calling 911 and watching from afar as the local law enforcement had shown up and recovered the missing infants had been relatively easy. Getting back in the car with Sam and having his younger brother pester him about what the demon had said had been the difficult part. By the time they had crossed the border into Kansas, the pair were no longer speaking.

The clang of harden-rubber soles meeting the metal lattice of the balcony and its descending staircase punctuated the silence between the two brothers. It was clear neither of them was eager to continue the argument from the car.

"Well," Sam imparted, "it's good to be home."

Dismissively, Dean replied, "Yeah, I'm going to go hit the head and then head off to bed."

Eliakim Folio in hand, Sam turned in the opposite direction, headed towards the library. He intended on storing the document there for the time being.

Their heavy footfalls on the granite floor masked the sound of the figure approaching from behind them. Neither of the Winchesters noticed the man until he called out their names.

"Sam. Dean," the husky tone of an Angel of the Lord called out to them.

"Jeez, Castiel!" Dean barked, spinning around. "You just can't sneak up on a guy like that."

"My apologies. I did not intend on causing you fright."

"Cas," Sam pointed out, "what are you doing here? I thought you were working on some sort of agreement with the angels still in heaven."

"I was but there were unforeseen complications."

"Complications like what?" Dean added.

As Dean spoke, the angel shifted his gaze to the older Winchester brother but once alighting there, his eyes went wide.

"Dean," Castiel gaped, "you are… I mean… there's something… different."

"Alright, Cas, knock it off, will you? I've had enough issues with Sammy over here giving me crap. I don't need you to lay into me as well."

Wordlessly, the angel made his way over to the hunter before coming face-to-face with Dean.

"Cas… what are you—"

Dean was silenced as the angel placed his left hand on the older Winchester's right shoulder. Glancing over at the hand and down Castiel's dress shirt cuffed and trench-coat-clad arm, Dean's gaze was returned to his friend's face. Perplex by the sudden physical contact, the hunter waited to see what the angel did next.

Castiel laying the flat of his right palm against Dean's chest before slowly sliding it down to where it rested on Dean's slightly distended belly.

"Dean," Cas's words were almost hesitant, "I did not believe it possible… but you have … you have been blessed."

Knocking the angel's hands away, Dean snapped, "Alright, that's it. Listen! I've gotten enough crap from that demon, Degon, in North Carolina. The last thing I need is to hear it from you too. Whatever 'it' is, it's certainly not a blessing!"

His attempt at storming off was thwarted by Sam stepping in his way.

"No, Dean," Sam insisted, "you have to stay. We need to know what is going on. Cas, tell him!"

"Sam's right, Dean. I think it would be best if you told your brother was has transpired."

"But I don't know!" the hunter practically shrieked. "Okay?! I don't know anything. All I know is you two aren't helping."

"Dean," Castiel conceded, "had I known that you had relations with a being that hasn't had contact with humans since before the Byzantine era, I would have—"

"Just spit it out already!"

"Dean, you have clearly had an encounter with a naiad."

"A what?!"

"A naiad. Naiads were one of the most powerful creatures within the Greek deity hierarchy. From as far back as the Mesopotamian era, these female like demi-gods inhabited lakes, rivers, and streams. Ancient mankind would seek the favor of these beings in order to reach the highest elevations of a transcendent state. Even angels have been known to be tempted by their power and blessed with their majesty.

"But with the influx of other belief systems into the region, their power dwindled. And like many of their ilk, they choose a life of solitude rather than to be exiled by those who once worshipped them. Due to the fact that they could no longer bless mankind with their gifts, their numbers dwindled. I had thought there were none left."

Asking for clarification, Sam took a few steps closer, "What do you mean by gifts, Castiel? How has Dean been blessed with any gifts? He has terrible nightmares, is constantly uncomfortable, drinks nothing but water, and a multitude of other strange symptoms. That does not correlate with being given any sort of gift."

Taking a step back, Castiel's eyes roved all over the older hunter's body before replying, "Dean is pregnant."

Dean's face exploded in a grin and he started to laugh so hard he could barely catch his breath. The idea was so ludicrous that it completely thrust aside the worry that had been pushing in on him for months.

"Cas," he laughed, wiping at his watering eyes, "I hate to break it to you buddy but that's not possible. Human males can't get pregnant. We don't have the right equipment for it."

"Then you have obviously never heard the tale of Homacrates. It is not that men cannot get pregnant, it is that they no longer associate with the beings who are able to bless them in that respect. It is a reversal of the ploy-gorgon-osmosis process. Though how you managed to have sexual intercourse with a naiad in this day and age is beyond my understanding."

Dean was not convinced.

"Pretty sure that if I had gotten pregnant by a water-sprite, I would remember it."

"Well," Sam interjected, "you don't exactly remember what happened to you before I found you naked and unconscious on a lake shore a few months back."

"Oh, well…," Dean muttered, "that has nothing to do with this."

Castiel was clearly in a state of disbelief as he said, "Are you saying you do not remember waking up naked or that you do not remember engaging in coitus with a mythological creature? Because I do not know how you could forget that. The quickening of the host is supposedly the most amazing experience a human can have."

"It wasn't amazing, alright," Dean retorted. "Because what little I remember is what flashes I get when I'm having those nightmares. And it's terrifying. Okay?"

"Dean," Castiel replied, "are you sure you do not remember? Surely the naiad gave you instructions where and when to return so she can assist in the birthing. Maybe I should…"

The angel reach forward as if to put his hands on either side of the hunter's head but Dean slapped his hands away.

"Dean!" Sam insisted. "You should let Cas help you."

"No!" Dean shouted back as he stormed off. "You two are lunatics. Until you two come to your senses, I'll be I my room."

Sighing, Sam rubbed his face with his hands before looking over at Castiel.

"So Dean had sex with a mermaid, uh?"

"Not exactly…"


	10. Diagnosis

Enraged by both the encounter in Carolina and what Castiel had said, Dean had been avoiding both him and Sam. As the days passed, the elder Winchester's anger subdued and was replaced with a growing sense of unease. It didn't help that the doctor's office they had visited back in South Dakota kept calling. In fact, it had been a call from that same office that had interrupted Sam and Dean's rescue attempt.

Finally, Dean gave in and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

—

"This is him."

—

"Sorry, I won't be able to come back in anytime soon. I'm, uh, out of town."

—

"Well, you're talking to me now. Why is it so important that I come in person to find out my test results? Can't you just tell me over the phone?"

—

"Best delivered in person? What is that supposed to mean?!"

—

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Dean took a deep breath before replying.

"I understand that a serious diagnosis demands a serious sit-down conversation but I'm not in a position to come in right now. If you can just tell me the results of the test, I'll be sure to get you the information to a local doctor where you can forward my medical information. Okay?"

—

Hearing the diagnosis, Dean slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor.

—

"Yeah," Dean breathed, "I'm still here. But are you sure it's testicular cancer? Could it possibly be anything else?"

—

"Okay, yes, I understand. Thank you, Doc. I'll be sure to schedule an appointment with my local oncologist."

—

"Bye."

Closing his phone with a snap, shut his eyes and wished he had never taken the phone call in the first place. It was one thing to be in denial when Castiel or a demon had made their ridiculous assertions but a medical doctor with no connection to the supernatural was another story altogether. And according to the doctor, the hormones in his blood could only indicate one thing: cancer. The only other thing the hormones could indicate did not apply to him since he was not female: pregnancy.

"Fuck!" Dean raged quietly.

Castiel and that friggin' demon had been right.


	11. Lost Memories

"Are you sure this will work?" Dean asked as Sam attached electrodes to his brother's head.

The older Winchester had already resigned himself to the fact that he had been infected with some sort of parasite. Of course, it could be cancer and Dean had looked up the treatment on WebMD. Finding that the solution was typically removal of the testicles and chemo, he quickly came to the conclusion that being pregnant was better than having his balls cut off. Besides, the former was temporary and the latter was permeant.

Now it came down to figuring out how he had ended up in this condition in the first place. Only then he could take the steps necessary to remedy the situation.

"The Men of Letter's accounts said it was mostly effective," Sam replied, reassuringly.

"Mostly?" Dean wondered aloud. "What do you mean mostly? What happened when it wasn't effective?"

Instead of replying, Sam tightened his lips and returned to his seat across from Dean and next to Castiel. The nervous look he was attempting to hide was as clear as day. Slowly applying the same electrodes to his own temple and forehead, Sam took a deep breath before he spoke.

"In theory, this will allow me to connect to your mind," he said to his brother. "Cas, you can hitch a ride with me."

Nodding in agreement and with the utmost decorum, Castiel placed one hand on the younger Winchester's shoulder and with the other leaned over to flip the switch on large metal contraption them.

"Alright," Sam breathed, "hold onto your hats."

"But we're not wearing hats," remarked Castiel, confused.

"Just flip the switch, Cas!" Dean snapped.

* * *

The buzz that had filled the bunker just seconds before abruptly halted. In that same instant, Sam and Castiel found themselves in alone in a large and empty room, encased by an inky blackness that permeated everywhere except their immediate surroundings.

Turning around quickly, Sam scanned the room for his brother and upon not finding him, shouted his name.

"DEAN!"

The echos of his cry reverberated through the darkness.

"Cas," Sam breathed, his voice shaky, "where's Dean?"

"He is over this way," Castiel replied, raising his hand and a small glow of white light issued forth, "follow me."

As the pair ventured into the darkness, Sam asked for clarification.

"I don't understand, why wasn't Dean there with us when we came through?"

"Because he was focused on the memories he wants to recover. That is where we will find him."

"And how do you know those memories are this way?"

"I sense the magic that is being used to conceal them," Castiel replied, his tone matter-of-fact.

It didn't take them long before the darkness around them began to dissipate and they found themselves along the edge of a long stretch of rural highway, no lights in sight except for the light provided by the full moon above. Across the asphalt was the Impala, its occupants apparently asleep.

"Dean," Sam uttered, crossing the road and opening the driver's door of the black Chevy. "Dean, wake up."

"Whaa," Dean mumbled, "Sam?"

"Whoa," Sam remarked, looking further into the vehicle and seeing himself in the passenger seat on the other side.

Catching his brother's look, Dean turned his head and said with a yawn, "Oh, yeah. I figure that's the memory version of you. He's out cold, I can't wake him."

Eyes wide, Sam pushed, "And so you fell back asleep?!"

"Sam," Castiel reasoned, "the prior memory-version of Dean and our Dean are one and the same in this plane of memory. While we can talk and interact with him in the present, he is compelled to follow in the footsteps of his past self."

"Wait," Dean said, "so I have to re-enact this memory? The memory that has been giving me nightmares for months, I have to relive it?! Why didn't you tell me this before I agreed to this cockamamy plan?"

"Don't look at me, man," Sam conceded. "I didn't know."

"Dean," Castiel remarked, "unearthing this memory is the only way we will figure out what happened. Not to mention that this naiad is quite possibly the only one with the knowledge necessary to deliver the —"

The angel's commentary was cut off by a shrill wail that pierced the air.

Turning his head, his eyes wide, Dean looked in the direction from which the noise had come.

"Something tells me," Sam said uneasily, "that you went off to investigate that sound."

"Awesome," Dean said, his sarcasm thinly veiled as he straightened his shoulders in an effort to steady himself before stepping down the embankment and plunging through the waist-high brush.

A glance was exchanged between Sam and Castiel before they followed close behind in the wake Dean left.

* * *

As the elder Winchester trudged along ahead of the other two, Castiel could practically feel the waves of apprehension coming off the hunter. He knew that Dean had experienced terrifying nightmares as a result of what had happened to him. Still, it was not prudent to dwell on such matters. Instead, he kept his mind on the tall grass bending beneath his feet and the smell of crisp clean air lingering at the tip of his nose.

The wails were intermittent but loud enough and often enough that locating the source wasn't difficult. Once they had made their way through the brush and a smattering of trees, they came to the shoreline of a small lake (more like a pond really) being fed by a larger stream. A quarter of a mile or so from the road, the clearing they had entered seemed like another world entirely. And, apparently, the lone inhabitant of this world was sitting on a large stone, just at the water's edge.

Hair, so blonde it was practically transparent, cascaded in long waves from the woman's head obscuring her face from view. Hunched over with her bare knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around herself, she was scantily clothed in a silk-like fabric that glistened in the light of the moon. Her whole torso heaved in silent sobs as she was apparently attempting to hold back the wailing noise she had been making earlier.

She was not at all what Castiel had been expecting. Granted, most of the knowledge he had concerning the ancient water nymphs had been second-hand. Though, unlike many of his contemporaries, he never had found a reason to find fault with some of the older demi-gods of yore just because they were not from Heaven. When it came to God's commandment to be stewards of the Earth, many of these nature-loving creatures embodied that dogma better than his brothers and sisters.

Curious as to what would happen next, the angel stood back and watched the scene unfold before him. This was, after all, just a memory.

Clearing his throat, Dean had stepped further into the clearing and into the woman's line of sight. He must've startled the naiad as her head sprung up and she locked him with a stare. The irises of her eyes were so dark, one could not tell where her pupils began and the irises stopped.

"Can you… can you see me?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Um," Dean stuttered, glancing back at Sam and Castiel. "Yeah, I can see you. Is that uncommon or something?"

It was then that Castiel realized that, since neither Sam nor he had been present at the actual event, the naiad could not see either of them.

The woman's brows rumpled as she eyed the elder Winchester carefully.

Something changed in the manner in which Dean was standing. It was if Dean was letting his guard down after not sensing anything immediately threatening. After all, the woman hadn't moved from her spot on the rock and it didn't appear as if she had any weapons. This was foolishness on the hunter's part and Castiel would have warned him if it were not for the fact that it would not make a difference.

"There anyone else around?" Dean asked.

"My sisters are long since dead. Killed by your ilk," the woman muttered, her voice beginning to crack with what could only be construed as anger.

"Oh," said Dean, taking a hesitant step back, "you mean hunters?"

"I mean humans, they are all hunters in one way or another. Spreading poison, hate, famine, violence, and pestilence where ever you take up residence. Polluting the streams and rivers where my sisters and I lived for centuries, killing us slowly and painfully."

"Okay?… Well, seeing as you don't consider yourself a human, that would make you, what exactly? My guess is some sort of mermaid, a water nymph, or naiad, right? Sorry to break it to you but if your kind is dying out it's just because that's the way things go."

"Dean," Sam called out a warning.

"No," Dean shouted back at Sam.

As soon as Dean had broken off from his conversation with the naiad, the world around them froze. The breeze stopped blowing and the swaying foliage suddenly became immobile. The only reasonable explanation was that behaving in any manner that did not follow the exact pattern of the incident would stall the memory from continuing. Any interaction he or Sam might have with Dean would do nothing to change the course of the events. It was merely a postponement.

"Sammy," Dean continued, "just hang back and let me get this over with."

"You do not understand what I am," the naiad raged in both anger and sorrow once the memory started up again. "Once the world of men worshipped my sisters and me, coming to our springs and sacrificing themselves that we might spawn new life. There weren't many that could see us and even fewer that chose to bear our young. And as time ticked along, men no longer could see us and we grew old."

"Well, if you ask me," Dean said with an unconvincing smile, "you don't look a day over 20. Doesn't change the fact that I'm not here to worship you. You might have a poor opinion of humans but, considering that you've just admitted to exploiting us, I don't really feel that bad for you."

"My sisters and I would never do such a thing! We took care of the springs and the tributaries, protecting those who drank from them. But now there is only me and I can no longer care for the water alone. I have traveled across the vast salt oceans to see if there were men still capable of —"

"Let me stop you there," Dean interrupted, his voice betraying his failing courage. "Just because I can see you, doesn't mean I want anything to do with whatever water sorcery you've got planned. So I'm going to turn around and walk away and we can just forget this ever happened."

Getting up from her perch, the naiad stepped lightly into the water her feet sinking beneath the rippling surface.

"I am sorry," she said as she walked deeper and deeper, "but you are the first man that has seen me in over a hundred years. With the moon full and the spring equinox aligned, the timing is right. And even if you are not willing, I cannot pass up this opportunity."

"What do you mean by oppur…" Dean's words fell short as he watched two long tendrils of water rise from the surface.

Despite his years as a hunter and fighting off anything that came his way, Dean's months of nightmares had evidentially caught up with him. The fear the hunter was experiencing was palpable. Dean had turned away from the lake's edge and was now starting to run.

This path of recourse would be fruitless as it would just stall the memory. Quick to act, Castiel moved into the hunter's path and Dean had gotten only a few steps before he slammed into the angel.

"Cas," Dean growled, "what are you doing?"

"Attempting to escape her won't work," Castiel explained. "You did not escape her before and therefore you cannot escape her now."

At that moment, a cool tentacle-like appendage wrapped around Dean's ankle and yanked him backward.

Falling, Dean grappled at the coarse sand and pebbles, the bits of dirt getting stuck beneath his nails as the water tendrils wrapped around his legs and pulled him towards the edge of the water.

"Sam!" Dean called out.

The younger Winchester moved forward but Castiel put out a hand and stopped Sam in his tracks. He could not allow him to intervene.

It was not a pleasant thing to do and the feelings his actions elicited churn in his gut. He wanted to save Dean from this experience but he could not. Instead, he had to stand his ground and listen to Dean's panicked cries and watch as the hunter was pulled by the water tendrils closer to the shoreline.

Dean had managed to flip himself over so that he might pull the tendrils from his legs but his efforts were futile as his hands passed through them as solid matter does when it meets liquid. Within seconds, the hunter was in the water and being pulled down below the surface. Droplets were flung upward through the air as Dean clawed at the water so that he might stay afloat.

And then he was gone.

"Dean!" Sam called, the sounds of grief and fear rippling out of his throat.

The water's surface stilled and there was no indication of the presence of either Dean nor the naiad.

"Cas," Sam said, his voice catching as tears sprung to his eyes. "What have we done?"

"Nothing," the angel replied. "This is just a memory. We already know the outcome."

"What if we're wrong. What if she kills him and he dies here. If you die in your dreams, you die in real life. Cas, what if we've led him straight to his own death?"

"Dean survives. Now all that is left for us to do is wait."

"I don't know if I can."

"If you go in that water," Castiel reasoned, "you will not be helping. You will just prevent the memory from moving forward and therefore prolong Dean's experience."

Nodding in dismal agreement, Sam slumped down on the ground amongst the pebbles and sand and buried his face in his hands.

"I'll tell you if anything changes," Castiel remarked, staring out across the lake's surface.

But nothing changed.

For what seemed like an awfully long time, the relative silence of the night permeated the air and the soft waves of the lake lapped at the shore. At least, the movement of the water was a sign that Dean's memory was progressing.

Meanwhile, Sam's mental state was starting to deteriorate as the hunter rocked himself back and forth. Muttering sounds reached Castiel's ears and he could hear Sam repeating over and over to himself that Dean was dead. Heaving a sigh, Castiel wished that Dean would come back up to the surface soon, for all their sakes.

Linear time was such an odd construct and yet as it passed Castiel contemplated how he wished he had more control over it. Ever since the Fall, the way he viewed the world had changed. And never more so did he feel that change more as he did at this particular moment. If he had access to the powers he once had, he would have been able to go back in time and stop this event from happening or, if not that, he would have been able to find an alternative solution.

A rush of bubbles had blossomed at the water's surface, drawing both Castiel's and Sam's attention. The younger hunter had gotten to his feet and was moving towards the water's edge. Castiel did not stop him this time. What was the point? Dean's quickening had surely been completed in the time that had elapsed.

Seconds later, the elder Winchester broke the water's surface and paused to breathe in great lungfuls of air before swimming to shore. The pale skin of his naked form in stark contrast to the dark water around him. Sam rushed to Dean's aid. Splashing through the shallows, the younger hunter's actions froze the world around them. This time, Castiel merely stood and watched as Sam pulled Dean to dry land

"Hunter!"

The scene creaked back to life around them as the naiad stood on the water's surface nearby.

"Hunter," she called again. "There is something I need to tell you."

"What have you done to me?!" Dean lamented as he shivered on the shore, held in his brother's embrace.

"I have blessed you, hunter. Just as my kind had done with your kind in the days of old. The highest of honors. You should be thanking me."

"Blessings?! Honors?! I think not," Dean seethed. "Whatever you've done, I will stop at nothing to undo it."

A look of horror crossed the naiad's face.

"You wouldn't," she breathed.

"I promise you, I will."

A cracking sound permeated the air as a blinding light flared out around the naiad.

Suddenly, Dean was back on his feet and clothed, standing right next to the angel. Looking down and touching his chest in confusion before then looking over and catching Castiel's eye. Sam was up on his feet in less than a second. The trio glanced at each other before looking on as the naiad stepped out of the water and approached the memory version of Dean still lying on the shore.

The now unconscious memory version of the elder Winchester looked vulnerable without even a single article of clothing to cover his nakedness. Dean must have thought so as well because he stepped forward as if to remedy the situation. Once again, Castiel found himself getting in the hunter's way. He hoped Dean would not hold his actions against him, he only wanted to prevent the memory from stalling. They still needed to know how this event had ended.

"Hunter," the naiad said softly as she knelt next to memory-Dean and ran her fingers through his hair, "I'm sorry but this is the only way. You cannot hurt her if you do not know that she is there."

Her webbed fingers drifted down his torso and rested on his belly.

"Keep her safe for me, Hunter, please. Without you, I will be the last of my kind. But with you…" the naiad trailed off, a conflicting look on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said again, placing a kiss on his brow. "When it is time, I pray you think to return here. Otherwise, it will be the end for us both."

And with that parting remark, the naiad departed, leaving memory-Dean naked on the shore while she disappeared into the depth of the water.


	12. Ripples

His mind flooded with a mixture of conflicting emotions, Dean slowly drifted out of the swirling cerebral-state of his memories. Feeling woozy and lightheaded, he blinked against the low light of the library. Still connected to the machine, he tugged at the wires and pried the electrodes from his skin before dropping them and getting, rather unsteadily, to his feet.

Glancing over at his brother, whose eyes were just now opening, and the angel, Dean wasn't sure how to even approach addressing the problem in which he now found himself mired. The steady gaze, with which Castiel was affixing him, indicated that perhaps he was in deeper than he had previously realized.

"Dean?" Sam said, groggily as he too was clearly disoriented from the evening's events.

"How much…" Dean hesitated. "How much of what she did to me did you see?"

"Enough," Castiel answered.

Wiping the inner-corners of his eyes, Sam shook his head before removing the sensors.

"I saw you get pulled into the water," the younger Winchester stated. "But once you were under, everything went completely still. You were under for such a long time that… that—"

Sam stopped abruptly, unable to finish his sentence.

"Your brother thought you had drowned," Castiel explained. "I had to restrain him from going in after you. It was not pleasant."

"Not pleasant?" Dean parroted back. "You want to know what was 'not pleasant,' Castiel? It was not pleasant having to suck face with a monster to breathe. It was not pleasant having her…"

Trailing off, he couldn't bring himself to say what she had done to him, much less admit it openly.

"Dean," Castiel replied, his voice full of compassion, "I realize that what you have experienced is traumatizing but we cannot lose focus. We now know for certain with whom we are dealing. Now, it is our job to track her down."

"Track her down?!" Dean protested. "Cas, I don't want to go anywhere near her, not ever. Because of her, I'm—." The rest of his sentence was completed by him motioning to his distended belly.

"What we need to do," Sam interrupted, "is fix Dean before we even think about any of that."

Turning towards Castiel, Sam gave him a knowing and obvious look before gesturing the angel in his brother's direction.

"I cannot fix Dean," Castiel noted.

"What?" Sam questioned, "Why not?"

"Other than discomfort due to the ramifications of being with child, Dean is perfectly healthy. There is nothing wrong with him."

Dean couldn't help but shoot Sam a cantankerous glare. He thoroughly disliked his brother saying that he needed to be 'fixed.'

"Nothing wrong with him? Dean has been forcefully impregnated! What are we supposed to do with him?" Sam wondered aloud. "Do we take him down to the nearest health clinic, slip them some cash, and get him an abortion?"

"What?! No!" Dean exclaimed.

"You said it yourself," Sam rationalized. "You told the naiad that you were going to undo what she did to you."

"I know what I said, Sammy. But I doubt this is the sort of thing that can be solved with a wire coat-hanger in a back-alley."

"Dean," Castiel pressed, seemingly unfazed by the bleak turn of the conversation, "we should try to find this naiad. As you are aware, human males do not possess the biological structures required for delivering a fetus. In your case, we need the mother's assistance."

"Cas," Sam hissed, "it sounds like you are more interested in keeping this monster-baby alive than Dean."

"Monster-baby?" Dean said defensively, placing a hand on his belly. "Is that what you think I'm carrying?"

"In my experience," Cas interjected, "fathers tend to protect their young."

"Dean's not interested in protecting monsters. In case you forgot, we're hunters. We kill monsters."

"STOP IT!" Dean yelled, his emotions rising quickly to the surface.

His gut had clenched and his mouth had gone dry as he had listened to Sam speak about the baby he was carrying as if it was a parasite. It was one thing to want to undo what had been done but it was another thing altogether to discuss the matter as though multiple lives didn't hang in the balance. Dean didn't want to be pregnant but he also didn't want to be rushed into making a decision.

Though he had only just gotten confirmation a few days ago that it was a pregnancy, he had known for months that something wasn't as it should be. But even then, it wasn't until this moment that Dean came to the sudden realization that his condition was not some curse to be dispelled or a monster to be fought and killed. In fact, if Castiel could be believed, the condition wasn't even permeant. It did not warrant the drastic measures Sam was suggesting.

"Just stop!" Dean continued, "I'm the only one in the room who gets a say. And the thing inside me might be many things but she is NOT a monster."

"Dean," Sam apologized, "I didn't mean it like that."

However, the elder of the pair had no time for his brother's attempts at consoling him. Instead, Dean turned and stalked out of the room in search of something to drink. A nice big glass of water was in order and maybe a bath as well.


	13. Kicks

With every passing day, Dean was growing rounder. It didn't help that, due to his condition, he couldn't exactly leave the bunker without drawing the wrong sort of attention. He didn't want to think about what was happening to his body but, now that he was to the point that he waddled when he walked, it was hard to avoid.

Harder still was dealing with Sam. Though his brother meant well, it irritated him to no end that Sam kept pressuring Dean to make a decision. And as none of them knew how long the gestational period was, Dean was determined to postpone any decision right up until the very end.

At the moment, Dean was attempting to take his mind off the matter by relaxing in his room and listening to a few of his favorite songs but the fact of the matter was that he could not get comfortable. No matter what position he was in, there was always a joint or muscle that liked to complain.

A knock at the door, followed by the gravel tones of a particular dark-haired angel, interrupted his endeavors in relaxations.

"Come in," Dean called across the room, as he lay awkwardly back on his mattress.

"Dean," Castiel greeted as he entered the room. "I was wondering if you might allow me to have a word with you."

"It's a free country, isn't it?" Dean replied.

"I … uh," the angel remarked hesitantly as he entered the room and turned the sound down on Dean's record player before taking a seat next to the bed. "I did not come here to discuss the freedoms people in this democratic republic are permitted. I came here to discuss your situation."

"Jeez, Cas. You're as bad as Sam. I'll tell you the same thing I told him. I'll come to a decision on my own. And when I do, I'll let you know. In the meantime," Dean griped as he motioned towards the exit, "there's the door."

"Dean, you know as well as I do that not making a decision in this situation is tantamount to making one. And at this point, I think we need to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"If we do not find the naiad before your time comes, then I very much doubt you or your baby will survive. She said as much on the banks of that lake."

Feeling pin-pricks in the corners of his eyes, Dean turned his face away from the angel, not wanting Castiel to see how emotional discussing the situation made him.

"I can't go back there," the hunter replied, his voice hushed with oppressed emotion. "I know you and Sam didn't see what was happening beneath the surface of the water but what she did…"

"What she did, she did out of desperation," Castiel rationalized, "and self-preservation. Her intent was not one of malice."

"Doesn't make it right."

"No," Cas admitted, "it does not."

Silence hung awkwardly in the air and Dean wished Castiel would just leave. It was hard enough remembering the events of that night: how his nails had dug into the sand of the beach as the water tendrils had pulled him down into the depths; how the naiad had stripped off his clothes; how the tendrils had entered him; and how it had felt when it had all come down to a crashing climax. Dean wanted to despise the naiad for what she had done, not feel pity for her.

"Dean," Cas said softly, breaking the silence as he placed a hand on the hunter's belly. "I am sorry for—"

The angel went suddenly quiet and a quirk in his brow appeared.

"What?" Dean questioned, concerned that something was amiss.

"I might have not told you prior but it is an extraordinary feat you are undertaking. Being present for this experience fills me with awe."

"Oh," the hunter replied, "is that it? You had me worried for a second there."

"I also felt kicking."

"Yeah, she's been doing that a lot lately."

"They," Castiel corrected.

"Huh?"

"I did not realize it before," Cas explained. "But it appears that you are carrying a small multitude."

"How many we talking?"

"Four."

"Four?!" Dean gasped, "Holy Shit!"


	14. Decisions

Making his way down the hallway, Dean kept a hand underneath his belly as he followed the trench-coat-clad angel in front of him. He felt utterly ridiculous waddling like a frickin' penguin and wearing nothing but a pair of boxers slung low under his stomach and a robe around his shoulders. Pretty much nothing fit him these days. And pants, shoes, and socks were totally out of the question seeing as he couldn't see his feet, much less balance in order to put on anything.

"Cas," Dean grumbled, "I don't know what you are playing at but this surprise you have in store for me better be good."

"This way," Castiel remarked as he turned to a door on the left and held it open for the hunter.

Entering the room, Dean was met with a face full of steam, the smell of something vaguely floral, and the sight of a large square tub encompassed on all four sides by slick black tiles.

"You drew me a bath," Dean remarked snidely. "What are you trying to say? That I stink?"

"I simply thought that you could take advantage of the soothing properties that bathing provides. I realize being with-child puts significant strain on the body. So, perhaps, if I help you alleviate some of that strain, then you will be able to put your mind to other matters."

"You mean make a decision?"

The steely-eyed look Cas was giving him didn't betray much but Dean knew exactly what the angel was thinking.

"Did Sam put you up to this?" Dean prodded further.

"No."

Letting his hand stray down the surface of his naked abdomen, Dean murmured, "I'm not getting rid of them."

"Dean, I know."

Casting a longing glance at the steam rising from the water's surface, the hunter made a decision. Well, a decision about whether or not he would accept Cas's kind, but somewhat underhanded, gesture.

"Turn around," he remarked as he shed the robe and let it drop to the floor. "I don't like the idea of you ogling me like some sort of pervert."

"I have existed for aeons," Castiel replied as he adhered to the hunter's behest. "Human nudity lost its novel appeal millenniums ago."

"And in all that time," Dean asked as he shuffled his boxers down and held onto the edge of the tub so that he might keep his balance, "how many naked pregnant men have you seen?"

"Technically, none in the flesh."

"My point exactly."

Hoisting himself over the rim of the tub turned out to be a bit of a challenge. His grunt of frustration was enough to spur the angel into making another comment.

"Dean, do you require some assistance?"

"No!" Dean shot back as he finally got over and into the tub, bolstered by his own stubbornness.

Laying down in the water, he exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. Cas had been right and with every breath that left his body, Dean could feel the tension draining out of his body. However, the sound of footsteps approaching the tub instantly put a damper on the soothing environment provided by the water. His eyes shot open as he fixed Castiel with a glare.

"I said no looking," Dean growled as he went to cover his genitals with his hands.

"I can't see anything," Castiel remarked even as he handed the hunter a washcloth with which to cover himself. "Your stomach obscures your pubic area."

"Well, Cas," Dean replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm, "you sure do know how to make a girl feel special."

The angel's furrowed brow was sufficient enough for the hunter to understand the remarked had gone over Castiel's head.

"Never mind," he grumbled as he flicked water at the angel. "Can you just get out of here and let me enjoy myself in peace for a bit?"

"Of course," Cas answered before turning to leave.

As the angel stepped outside, he paused at the door to pivot on his heel and shoot the hunter a meaningful look.

"I will be back to assist you in getting out of the tub. I do not believe you capable of doing it yourself without causing injury to you or the children you carry."

"Cas! Will you please just get out of here?!"

"Dean."

The rumble in Castiel's voice made it clear he was not joking.

"Fine," the hunter relented. "I'll wait for you to come back."

Castiel's response was merely to close the door behind him with a distinctive snick.

Finally alone, Dean sighed deeply and slid himself further into the deep warm waters of the bath. His knees and his belly jutted up above the surface but the rest of him was encased by the liquid heat. The water was rather buoyant and Dean could feel the soreness oozing out of his aching joints that had been stiff from the constant pressure of his own body weight.

Running a hand along the swell of his belly, Dean wasn't exactly pleased with how his body looked or felt these days. But, at least, he hadn't started growing breasts as well. This non-development he took to mean that he wasn't intended on providing sustenance for the babies he was carrying like some sort of heifer. Supposedly, their mother would be the one to feed them.

_Their mother… _

Dean's brain hit a snag at the thought of the naiad. He didn't like thinking of her or of what she did to him and how she had done it. But there was something he knew for certain if the naiad was their mother, then surely he was their father. What she had forced into him had been mixed with his own seed and so it only stood to reason that the babies he was carrying were just as much a part of him as they were her.

"_… and Sam wants me to be rid of them like they are some sort of parasite and not made of my own flesh and blood,_" he thought to himself, feeling nothing but contempt for his younger brother.

Feeling angry at Sam was a lot easier than dealing with the other emotions bouncing around inside his skull, namely fear. He didn't like to admit it but he was terrified; terrified of what had happened to him, terrified of what would happen if he returned, and terrified of what would happen if he did not go back to the lake in Illinois.

"_When it is time_," the naiad's words at the lakeshore echoed in his head, "_I pray you think to return here. Otherwise, it will be the end for us both._"

It didn't take a mind reader to figure out what she had meant by that, it could only mean one thing. If Dean didn't go back, he would die and all indications pointed to the end result of the babies perishing with him. And the naiad? In time, she would die too; the last of her kind.

"Fuck my friggin' life," Dean moaned before he slipped his head beneath the water's surface.

As counter-intuitive as it would seem, the one thing he didn't fear at this point in time was the water or being submerged in it. Somehow, it calmed him. Or maybe, perhaps, it was that water calmed his daughters inside of him.

His daughters, he hadn't said it out loud yet but he had thought of the creatures dwelling inside him by that verbiage a time or two. As the weeks had passed, it had just felt right. They were his. He was their father and he would do what fathers who love their children do best, protect them from all that would even threaten to harm them. He would put their best interests above his own.

The babies writhed within him, almost as if they were dancing.

Was it because they were happy? Was it because they knew how much their father loved them?

"Aaaahhh!" Dean shrieked, jolting upright as water splashed around him and droplets flew into the air.

Pain, there had been a sudden and sharp pain. Like a needle being plunged into him right above his left hip, the piercing sensation was excruciating at first but had dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. The thrumming dull ache lingered, preventing Dean from denying what he had felt. It also didn't help that his heart was racing and he felt as though he could not catch his breath.

"Dean!" Castiel called as he came bursting the door.

Seeing the naked hunter before him sitting bolt-upright and gripping the sides of the tub so tightly that the knuckles on Dean's hands were white, Castiel was rightfully concerned.

"Dean," he said again, crossing the short distance to the tile and porcelain fixture, "what happened? Are you alright?"

"S'fine," the hunter muttered, as the pain had left him slightly disoriented to the point that he slurred his words.

"I don't believe you," Castiel remarked, coming even closer even though Dean was batting him away with a wet palm.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean cried out as another shooting pain scorched along his abdomen.

Castiel, despite not always being that in touch with human emotions and sentiments, knew what agony was when he saw it. Quickly the angel reached out his hand and used his grace to ease the hunter's suffering as best he could.

His breaths coming in gasps, Dean gripped Cas's outstretched arm and tried to steady himself.

"Cas," he said once the pain had finally subsided to the point that he could speak, "go get Sam and tell him to gas up Baby. We're going back to Illinois."

"Sam is not here."

"What?! Where is he?"

"On a hunt," the angel replied, noticeably cringing. "He'll be back in a few days."

Moving faster than someone in his condition should, Dean attempted to get himself out of the bathtub. No longer caring if Castiel saw him naked, the only thing on his mind was getting his phone and getting Sammy back to bunker. The younger Winchester might not approve of the decision but Dean didn't think he could get through what lay ahead without his brother.

Castiel helped Dean out as best as he could though it was difficult handling a wet and slippery hunter who was also extremely irritated. Finally, once Dean was out of the tub and wrapped in a terrycloth towel, the angel had a chance to ask a few choice questions.

"Are you certain you want to go back? Do we have enough time?"

"I don't think we have a choice," Dean grumbled. "And I might not like it but my girls just told me, loud and clear, they need their mommy."


	15. Imminent Inevitability

Hauling himself over the lip of the earthen embankment, Sam climbed out of the freshly dug grave. Once back on his feet, he dusted as much of the dirt off of his hands and clothing before crouching down to gather the bag of salt. Unfolding the lip of the paper sack in his hands, he walked around the perimeter of the opening, painstakingly but liberally sprinkling salt on the corpse in the open casket below. The gasoline was next, that too was applied to the body, the soul of whom had been tormenting the residents of a nearby town, but not for much longer.

Lighting a match, Sam let it burn for a second before tossing it into the grave. The gasoline ignited with a whoosh and the body and casket caught alight as well. As he stood and watched, Sam's focus was fixed on the fire below him, the crackle of the flames, and the creak of the coffin's burning heavy oak paneling.

A hunt was just what he needed and he was rather somber it was coming to an end. Now, without a reason to be gone from the bunker, he'd have no excuse to not return. Truthfully, he rather be anywhere but there.

At first, he had found the idea of Dean being pregnant rather humorous. Then, after witnessing the scene at the lake, he was angry over what had happened to his brother. Now… now, Sam found himself disgusted. It was not often that Dean emerged from his room but when he did, he did so with a waddle. Seeing his brother cradle his bloated and distended belly made Sam's insides churn. This was not some blessing. Dean was infected with parasites and somehow both he and Castiel seemed to be dead set on keeping the things alive. Sam could not simply stand around and do nothing. So he had left, finding refuge in work.

"_When I get back," _he thought, "_I have to take matters into my own hands. If Dean refuses to do anything then I —"_

The sensations of a phone vibrating in his pocket startled him from his train of thought.

"Hello?"

The gravelly voice of Castiel on the other end quickly alerted Sam that not all was well with his brother and that he needed to return home.

"Hold on," Sam said, running quickly to the Impala parked a few meters away. Climbing inside and starting the engine, the hunter turned on the phone's speaker so he could use both hands on the steering wheel as he pulled out of the cemetery, tires squealing against the asphalt.

"Tell me what happened," Sam barked.

"Your brother has started to have some sort of contractions," Castiel relayed. "He is fine now but without some sort of intervention, I fear that his amnion-membranes are beginning to thin. Consequently, he is close to giving birth."

"Giving birth?! Cas, he does not have a way of giving birth! It is not like he has a fucking vagina."

"I know, Sam."

"Then how is he—"

"Just get here as quickly as you can," Castiel answered before abruptly ending the call.

"Son of a bitch," Sam declared, using one of his brother's favorite catch-phrases and smacking the steering wheel with the flat of his hand as he pushed down harder on the gas pedal.

* * *

Leaning on the hood of the Impala, Castiel kept watch. He did not blink, he had no need to do so. What he did need to do was keep his gaze fixed firmly on the lake's surface smooth surface. The night was so calm that the water before him acted like a mirror, reflecting the stars in the heavens above.

Somehow, after Sam had arrived back home, they had managed to load Dean into the car and drive all the way to Illinois without incident. It had taken some back-tracking and a bit of guesswork but, inexplicably, Dean had been able to lead them to the exact location where his impregnation had occurred. After pulling their vehicle up to a nearby boat dock, they decided to camp out on the beach.

Now, they waited.

The brothers, having been awake for hours, had fallen asleep on the seats of the Impala. Glancing back, Castiel eyed them carefully, making sure they were truly unconscious. Dean was curled up in the front seat, his arm draped protectively over his belly and with at least a dozen or so partially empty water bottles strewn across the passenger seat footwell in front of him. Sam was in the back seat, his long legs propped up on the window-sill and his feet hanging out of the vehicle.

Both of them were fine, at least for the moment.

Turning his attention back to water's surface, Castiel waited for the naiad to come and claim her children. Though, truth be told, he was not entirely sure she would show. Part of him wished that she would not come at all. Even though she had done it for what one could only assume was the best of reasons, she had still essentially raped Dean.

Maybe they did not actually need her. When Dean's time came, they could easily cut the creatures out of him and then, as an Angel of the Lord, he could use his grace to heal the hunter.

Shaking his head at the absurd idea, Castiel could not reasonably entertain the notion.

Surely the babies would not survive such a procedure, especially without their mother. Additionally, Dean was more than just a host, he was their father and the unborn-creatures were his offspring.

There was not a single iota of Castiel's being that would wish harm to befall Dean's children.

Rippling, in the water before him, caught his attention and drew his mind away from his musings. Pushing himself off the hood, Castiel took a few steps so he was directly between the water's edge and the vehicle. After a few moments, a figure rose from the water and made her way onto the shore.

The naiad looked just as she had in Dean's memories: her long silver hair cascading down around her face and flowing down past her shoulders, the dress simmering in the light of the moon as it hugged her delicate curves, and her eyes unwaveringly dark.

"Angel," she called once she had reached the shore, "what business have you here? It is known that your kind and mine have no affinity for one another."

Castiel should have expected this sort of reaction to his presence. In the many ages preceding this one, angels had held blatant hostility towards non-Judaical deities, as those beings were not from heaven. And while he personally had always been more intrigued by some of the lesser demi-gods, the naiad had no way of knowing that. Consequently, Castiel felt himself becoming defensive.

"Your kind?" the angel challenged. "Of whom do you speak? It is my understanding that you are the last."

This stopped the naiad in her tracks.

"The hunter, he told you? How? He should have not been able to remember anything. Did you pull it from his mind, Angel? I swear if you hurt my hunter, I'll —"

"Your hunter?!" Castiel seethed, stepping forward and letting an angel-blade slide down his coat sleeve and into his palm. "Dean is not _your_ hunter. If anyone's, he is _mine_."

The water behind the naiad suddenly came alive with movement as though alive with a mass of invisible eels.

A wiser man would have been afraid or, at the very least, taken a step back but Castiel was no man. He was an Angel of the Lord and he would not be intimated by some creature that resorted to force in order to propagate her species. Tightening his grip on the handle of his blade, Castiel stood at the ready for anything and anyone that might try to get between him and his Winchesters.


	16. Birth

The hand on his shoulder jostled him awake and Dean groaned as he did his best to roll over on the narrow front seat of the Impala. His eyes only partially open, the older Winchester found himself looking up at his younger brother, who was motioning for him to stay silent.

"What?" Dean mouthed without a sound.

Sam withdrew the finger he had placed perpendicular to his lips and then pointed it towards the lakeshore.

In an effort to get into a position where he could see what was happening behind him, Dean grabbed hold of the backrest and attempted to turn around. However, being pregnant with quadruplets made this incredibly difficult and, consequently, his foot managed to strike the steering wheel and subsequently the car's horn. Mortified, Dean looked up through the window to see both Castiel and the Naiad staring directly at him.

Instinctively, Dean gave the pair an awkward grin and a little wave.

"Dean," Sam reprimanded him.

"Shut up, bitch," Dean shot back. "Just get out and stop Cas from doing anything stupid."

Muttering under his breath, the younger Winchester brother did exactly that but Dean swore he could've heard Sam utter the word 'jerk' as he exited the vehicle.

"Cas," Sam called, as he walked over to angel and the naiad, "don't kill her just yet. Dean wants to talk to her first."

The naiad responded but Dean could not hear her clearly enough to make out what she was saying. So begrudgingly, he extracted himself from the car and made his way over to the trio standing close to the lake's edge.

The amount of tension in the air was palpable. Castiel still had out his angel blade and Sam was clearly fingering the handle of the pistol in his pocket. Wrapping a hand around his belly protectively, Dean approached. It seemed to take him an eternity as his gait was now a slow waddle.

"Hunter," the naiad said, "it is good that you have returned. Though, I would have preferred you to have come alone."

"Last time I was alone with you," Dean shot back, "you raped me."

"I did what had to be done."

"You nearly drowned him," Sam seethed.

The naiad eyed the taller Winchester before replying.

"Remarkable," she replied as she fixed Sam with an inquisitive gaze. "It is apparent that you can see me as well. Had I known that others were living, capable of laying eyes on my physical form, then perhaps I would have chosen differently."

Sam's complexion visibly paled at the idea of being forcefully impregnated and Dean noticed him twitch as if he would pull out his gun. Extending out a hand, Dean grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him a step closer.

"You will not touch my brother," the elder Winchester stated protectively.

"Not now," the naiad replied, sounding regretful as she explained. "The moon is not in the right position."

"Not ever," Castiel growled, stepping in front of both of the brothers and coming between them and the naiad. "What you have done is beyond reprehensible. If it were not for the fact that we needed you to remove the infants, then you would be dead already."

"I have no quarrel with you, Angel," the naiad justified. "You say you are here so that I may deliver my children and that is what I intend to do. But answer me this, when has the survival of my daughters become something an Angel is willing to fight over? They are like me, creatures of mythology and water. They cannot survive on land."

"Wait, what?" Dean gasped, pushing Castiel out of his way and coming face to face with the demi-god. "These children are mine. You cannot take them from me."

"Hunter..." the naiad fretted, her countenance grim. "I am sorry but, though the children have developed within you, they are not like you. They will not be able to step onto the land until they have grown."

"You have got to be kidding me," Dean yelled before storming off along the rocky beach, kicking at pebbles as he went.

With every step he took, he could feel his daughters squirming inside him. Placing a gentle hand on his belly, Dean sauntered on as tears fell to his cheeks. At least no one chased after him as he plodded along. He walked until the naiad, Castiel, and his brother were out of sight. Finally, coming to a large outcropping of rock overhanging the lake's surface, the hunter settled down on the cold hard stone.

He didn't know how long he sat there but he absentmindedly began to throw small rocks into the lake before him. As the first one fell beneath the depths, ripples made their way back to the shore. As the minuscule waves lapped at the shore, Dean suddenly felt the muscles of his belly spasm.

"Son of a —" he gasped as a contraction rolled through him.

This was it. His time had come. His daughters, sensing their mother near, had decided it was time for them to no longer be held captive by their father's flesh.

* * *

The naiad watched the hunter stomp away, his movements impeded by the weight of carrying their daughters. She hadn't expected to be so emotional to see him again but the sight of him, ripe with the fruit of their passions, was particularly stirring. Consequently, she would have gone after him but she was hedged in on both sides by both the angel and the hunter's brother.

She had definitely not expected the hunter to bring anyone with him when he returned to her, least of all a member of the host of Heaven. It was not every day that one of the feathered-folk came down to mix with the likes of mankind. Perhaps the angel and the hunter were somehow enmeshed together in one type of relationship or another.

"What do we do now?" the hunter's brother asked.

"You? There is nothing that requires you to do anything. It is I that must act," the naiad answered. "I must use my power to assist in the birth."

"And how will you accomplish that?" the angel pressed.

"In the same manner in which I blessed him."

"You intend on pulling him under the water once again?"

The naiad nodded, "The children must take their first breaths under the surface."

"You can't do that to him though," the brother added. "Last time you pulled him under, it left him having nightmares for weeks on end."

"Then what would you suggest?"

* * *

"Dean," Castiel's gravelly tones called to the hunter sitting on the rocky outcropping.

"Go away, Cas," Dean growled back.

"Hunter!"

This time Dean turned his head to see the naiad following close behind both his brother and Castiel.

"Hunter," the naiad continued once they had gotten closer. "The time has come. The water knows."

"I said go away!"

"Dean," Sam said softly as he took a seat next to his brother, "what other option is there?"

"I-" the elder Winchester began to respond but his sentence was quickly cut off as he was hit by a powerful contraction.

Sam reached out and grabbed him, supporting him while Dean rode out the waves of pain. Dean's breathing was labored and by the time the contraction ended, he was sweating and feeling light-headed.

"Come," Castiel said, approaching the brothers and assisting Sam in getting Dean to his feet.

The three of them made their way to the edge of the rocky outcropping, where it met the lake's surface. Here the transition between land and water was abrupt. Staring at the calm water below him, Dean wondered how deep the drop-off went.

"Dean," Castiel urged, "we have to get you into the water."

Remembering how it had felt in that memory to have the waters close above him as he was dragged deep beneath the surface, he was not keen on repeating that experience. Dean shook his head no.

"You will not be pulled under this time," the angel promised. "I am going to keep your shoulders and head above the water. I will lay on the shore and hold onto you. I will not let go. You have my word."

Closing his eyes, Dean gritted his teeth as another contraction hit him. His knees gave way and the only reason he remained standing was that Sam and Castiel held him up.

"Okay," Sam muttered in a soothing voice as he tugged down the waistband of his brother's pants, "we are out of time and out of options. Time to get this over with."

"Hey," he complained, "those don't need to come off."

"According to her," Sam replied as he knelt to help his brother remove his shoes and step out of the garment, "they do. She said that her water tendrils, the plokámia, created a life-creating-pocket in your body through … um… going up through the thin tissue of your rectum. The plokámia have to reverse the process to get the babies out so there is no damage done to your internal organs."

"What?! That not physically possible," Dean gasped, his eyes going wide. "Where is she?

"She has already made her way into the lake," Castiel answered as he half-helped half-compelled the elder Winchester to submerge his lower half into the water.

The angel lay with his belly on the stone slab that jutted out over the water's surface, his arms wrapped underneath Dean's shoulders and around his back.

"I don't think I can do this," the hunter fretted.

"It's going to be okay, Dean," comforted Sam.

"Sam!" Dean barked as anger flared through him. And though his voice was muffled by the fabric of Castiel's trench coat in which his head was buried, it didn't stop him from equivocating. "Shut up before I shut you up."

The younger Winchester grumbled but did not venture a retort.

Dean gasped in pain as his muscles spasmed with every contraction. At least this time, the water soothed some of the discomfort. He could feel the current tickle the tips of his toes as he trod the water below. However, what he thought was just a small current became more substantial as the water took shape. A horrific sense of recognition washed over him as tendrils began to wrap themselves around his legs.

"No!" Dean moaned, "Not this. Oh please, not this. Not again."

* * *

Keeping the laboring hunter in his arms calm was turning out to be a rather taxing effort and Castiel wondered if he was up to the task.

Many centuries ago, when he had first learned of the female demi-gods' ability to bless a human male with the ability to carry life, the angel had found the concept rather intriguing. Now, if he was being honest with himself, the idea of Dean having to birth children in this manner was appalling.

Dean struggled and moaned in pain.

"The naiad is not going to drag you under, Dean," Castiel whispered, doing his best to comfort the hunter. "But you have to let her do what needs to be done."

Watching Dean fill his lungs with one deep breath after another, Castiel tightened his grip. Whatever the naiad was doing, he could not see as the night was still fairly dark and lake water obscured anything lying beneath the surface. Even so, the angel was able to tell that something was writhing underneath the water.

"Oh shit," Dean shuddered. "Not there."

Biting his lip, he buried his head in the fabric of Castiel's coat.

Not knowing what to say or do, the angel held fast. Cas could feel some of the tension easing from Dean's muscles as the hunter went slack in his embrace. The naiad's magic kept Dean afloat as the water around him began to pulsate and glow.

Dean gasped!

Suddenly, the naiad appeared next to the hunter. As her head broke the water's surface, droplets streamed off of her face and the silver hair that cascaded past her shoulders. Gripping his chin with her webbed hand, the naiad turned Dean's face towards hers.

"Nearly there," she panted through gasping breathes. "We are nearly there. I just need you to push when the time comes."

Then, leaning in, she placed a brief and solitary kiss on his lips.

"Thank you, hunter."

The naiad disappeared beneath the surface and seconds later the look Dean's face grew resolute.

Watching the hunter closely, Castiel held Dean steady in the many minutes that followed. Dean strained with every contraction as he birthed his daughters beneath the surface. And yet he did not scream nor did he yell. The hunter remained determined and resolute as each child issued forth from his body.

* * *

His task complete, Dean's body overflowed with a mixture of adrenaline and endorphins. Despite all that had just happened, there was only one thing on his mind: his daughters.

"Cas," Dean gasped, trying to push himself out of the angel's hold, "let go. I have to be with them."

"No, Dean," Castiel replied. "You'll drown."

"Just for a minute. Please, Cas, I have to see them."

Releasing his grip from around the man's back, Castiel moved his hands down Dean's arms and slowly lowered him fully into the water.

Still holding onto one of the hunter's hands before Dean was submerged, Castiel said, "One minute. And then I am gripping you tight and raising back from the depths."

Nodding in response, Dean let himself sink under the water.

Still aglow with the magic, the naiad was there, only a foot or two down. She waited for him. The four smallest babies Dean had ever seen were nestled within her arms, against her chest. Short fine wisps of light blonde hair floating around their heads made them look like little cherubs. Their skin was practically translucent and they looked like they were held together by light.

Dean reached out his free hand and drew the naiad close. Placing a kiss on her lips, he drew in a breath of air before bowing his head and placing a kiss on each of his daughters' heads.

Whispering in Dean's ear, the naiad spoke, "I shall name the first Thea after the goddess of light, for she is the light of hope that our kind is not lost to the passage of time. I shall name the second Selena after the moon goddess, for she would not have been conceived if not for the light of the moon. I shall name the third Tethys after the goddess of freshwater, for water is life-giving and sustaining. And the fourth, the fourth I will name after you, sweet hunter. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. Our fourth daughter will be named Artemis, after the goddess of hunting."

The naiad kissed him once more, filling his lungs with air before she began to descend farthing into the depths.

Dean extended his arm to embrace her and their daughters but he could not reach them. Instead, he found himself being pulled to the surface. His brother and the angel hauled him out of the water. Sam held him upright as the pair sat together on the rocky outcropping. Castiel stood, shedding his coat to wrap around the wet hunter.

Shivering, Dean leaned against his brother's chest. He was at a loss for words. Inside he felt empty and numb.

"It is done, now," Castiel remarked, crouching down in front of the brothers. "Time for you to rest."

And with this concluding statement, the angel raised two of his fingers and placed them on Dean's forehead. Instantly, the hunter was unconscious.


	17. Epilogue

Thumbing the pages of the ancient leather-bound manuscript, the younger of the Winchester brothers hesitantly approached the lone figures standing on the sandy shores of the lake.

"Dean?" Sam said, carefully. "Dean, it's time to go."

Staring at the back of his brother's leather jacket, Sam waited for Dean to respond. This wasn't the first time they had been back to the lake since that fateful night and it wouldn't be the last. At least this time, Dean hadn't stripped down and tried to go swimming down into the depths. Every time he had done that before, Sam worried his brother would never resurface.

"Dean," Sam pressed. "Dean, we've got to go. Castiel just called. He's gathered the ingredients but he needs us to bring the Eliakim Folio. If we are going to have enough time to perform the ritual and get a regular angel souped-up enough to fend off one of the princes of hell, we need to go now."

"How long," Dean asked, "do you think it takes for a naiad to mature?"

"Come on," Sam mumbled, "we've had this discussion a hundred times in the past couple of years and my answer is always the same: I don't know."

The elder Winchester had no response and neither did he move. Instead, Dean stood still as he watched the lakes' ripples lap at the shore.

"Dean, she's not coming."

"Don't you want to meet your nieces, Sammy?" Dean replied. "You should've seen them: Thea, Selena, Tethys, and Artemis. They were so beautiful and delicate. What I wouldn't give to hold them in my arms."

Stepping closer, Sam slung his arm around his older brother.

"I am sure you will see them again. We'll keep coming back until you do. But, Dean, it's time to leave."

Heaving a long-drawn-out sigh, Dean bowed his head in disappointment before pulling away and turning on his heel and heading towards the Impala. Casting one last glance at the moonlight glinting off of the water, Sam quickly followed.

x... THE END ...x


End file.
